Read Online Square in the Face (Claire Montrose Series) by April Henry - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: April Henry
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until three.” She sighed and shook her head. “Let me see what else I have back here.” She disappeared again into the walk-in closet. The yellow halter dress she emerged with was splashed with bright orange sunflowers.
“Have you told him yet?” Claire asked.
Without looking at Claire, Lori shook her head. “How can I? You know how they say people either see the glass as half-full or half-empty? In Havi’s case, he wants to know who in the hell drank his water.” Claire smiled but Lori didn’t. “He’s so angry right now, but there’s no one to be angry at. If I tell him, then I’ll just be giving him a place to put his anger, and I can’t deal with that right now.” Her tone hardened, as if Claire were arguing with her. “If you find her, then I’ll tell.” She let her breath out in a sigh, then amended it to, “When you find her.” She sat on the bed and looked at Claire. There were shadows under her dark blue eyes. “Do you really think you need to go to the Bradford Clinic posing as a pregnant woman?”
Claire was still figuring out the answer to that question herself. “The only place I can find out who adopted your daughter is at the clinic. We already know they won’t talk to you, so they wouldn’t talk to me, at least not as Claire Montrose. The minute I showed up asking questions they would show me the door. But if I go as a pregnant woman who is considering adoption, I might have the opportunity to beg, borrow or steal the information we need.” Claire hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. “Do you think I can get away with saying I’m a college student?”
Leaning forward, Lori put a finger under Claire’s chin and examined her face with narrowed eyes. “Maybe. If you said you were twenty-five you could probably get away with it. A lot of students at PSU are in their mid-twenties. It’s a good thing you don’t have many lines.”
“Redheads don’t tan, especially in Oregon. I gave up and started wearing sunscreen a long time ago.”
Lori held the sunflower dress against herself. “Well, what do you think? This always looks good on me when I’m a red-head.”
“It might be a little ...” loud didn’t seem like a polite term. “Colorful?”
“Okay. I can take a hint. No big flower prints.” Lori disappeared again into the closet. Claire could hear hangers sliding back and forth as she sought another selection. “How about this?” She came out with a red cocktail dress, cut low in the bosom and high on the legs, the kind of thing that would show off Lori’s curves and would make Claire look as shapely as a clothespin.
“I don’t think it’s really me,” Claire said. “You have to be you to carry off that dress.”
“I guess it’s just another dress I have good memories of. Let’s see, let’s see. Wait a minute, I might just have something in the back. I bought it at Nordstrom’s Rack, but it’s a little too long for me. I’ve only worn it once.”
The dress Lori emerged with was still swathed in clear plastic from the drycleaner, but right away Claire could see how striking it was - and how unlike anything she regularly wore. A floor length black knit, it had a cut-away back crossed by two curving bands of satin. “Could I wear a bra in that?” she asked.
Lori snorted. “What are you, a B-cup? Honey, you don’t need to worry. Go on, try it on. And if you absolutely decide you have to have a bra, just go down to Nordstrom and get yourself some of those glue-on cups. They’ll give you a little bit of support and prevent that ‘headlight’ phenomenon.” For a moment, Lori seemed nearly her old self, dispensing fashion advice with a smile and a wink. It was almost possible to forget about the desperately ill child sleeping downstairs.
“At Minor High, guys would say your highbeams were on. Or they’d yell down the hall that they wanted to ‘taste your chocolate chips.’ High school is a much blunter place than the rest of the
“Have you told him yet?” Claire asked.
Without looking at Claire, Lori shook her head. “How can I? You know how they say people either see the glass as half-full or half-empty? In Havi’s case, he wants to know who in the hell drank his water.” Claire smiled but Lori didn’t. “He’s so angry right now, but there’s no one to be angry at. If I tell him, then I’ll just be giving him a place to put his anger, and I can’t deal with that right now.” Her tone hardened, as if Claire were arguing with her. “If you find her, then I’ll tell.” She let her breath out in a sigh, then amended it to, “When you find her.” She sat on the bed and looked at Claire. There were shadows under her dark blue eyes. “Do you really think you need to go to the Bradford Clinic posing as a pregnant woman?”
Claire was still figuring out the answer to that question herself. “The only place I can find out who adopted your daughter is at the clinic. We already know they won’t talk to you, so they wouldn’t talk to me, at least not as Claire Montrose. The minute I showed up asking questions they would show me the door. But if I go as a pregnant woman who is considering adoption, I might have the opportunity to beg, borrow or steal the information we need.” Claire hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. “Do you think I can get away with saying I’m a college student?”
Leaning forward, Lori put a finger under Claire’s chin and examined her face with narrowed eyes. “Maybe. If you said you were twenty-five you could probably get away with it. A lot of students at PSU are in their mid-twenties. It’s a good thing you don’t have many lines.”
“Redheads don’t tan, especially in Oregon. I gave up and started wearing sunscreen a long time ago.”
Lori held the sunflower dress against herself. “Well, what do you think? This always looks good on me when I’m a red-head.”
“It might be a little ...” loud didn’t seem like a polite term. “Colorful?”
“Okay. I can take a hint. No big flower prints.” Lori disappeared again into the closet. Claire could hear hangers sliding back and forth as she sought another selection. “How about this?” She came out with a red cocktail dress, cut low in the bosom and high on the legs, the kind of thing that would show off Lori’s curves and would make Claire look as shapely as a clothespin.
“I don’t think it’s really me,” Claire said. “You have to be you to carry off that dress.”
“I guess it’s just another dress I have good memories of. Let’s see, let’s see. Wait a minute, I might just have something in the back. I bought it at Nordstrom’s Rack, but it’s a little too long for me. I’ve only worn it once.”
The dress Lori emerged with was still swathed in clear plastic from the drycleaner, but right away Claire could see how striking it was - and how unlike anything she regularly wore. A floor length black knit, it had a cut-away back crossed by two curving bands of satin. “Could I wear a bra in that?” she asked.
Lori snorted. “What are you, a B-cup? Honey, you don’t need to worry. Go on, try it on. And if you absolutely decide you have to have a bra, just go down to Nordstrom and get yourself some of those glue-on cups. They’ll give you a little bit of support and prevent that ‘headlight’ phenomenon.” For a moment, Lori seemed nearly her old self, dispensing fashion advice with a smile and a wink. It was almost possible to forget about the desperately ill child sleeping downstairs.
“At Minor High, guys would say your highbeams were on. Or they’d yell down the hall that they wanted to ‘taste your chocolate chips.’ High school is a much blunter place than the rest of the
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